How to Use a Skateboard as a Shelf

by Fern Fischer

Your active skateboarder can go through board after board, building quite a collection of worn-out favorites. Skateboard decks are made from tough materials developed to withstand hard pounding, and that strength makes them a natural choice to repurpose as shelves. While you can remove the trucks and wheels and use the decks as lumber-like building materials, you can also make a simple shelf by mounting an intact skateboard on sturdy brackets. A typical skateboard is about 32 inches long, an ideal length to span wall studs. As an added bonus, the textured, non-slip surface on many decks helps items stay on the shelf.

Locate two wall studs with an electronic stud finder, and lightly mark the edges of each stud with a pencil. If you don’t have a stud finder, lightly tap the wall until the hollow sound changes to a solid sound, which indicates a stud.

Hold one of the shelf track standards -- the strip that attaches to the wall, with notches for the brackets -- against the wall vertically between a pair of stud marks, placing it at the correct height for your shelves. Drill an 1/8-inch pilot hole at the screw hole at the top of the standard. Secure the standard with a screw in the top hole. Mounting systems typically include screws, or use 2 1/2-inch wood screws. Don’t over-tighten the screw, but leave it loose enough so you can adjust the plumb, or vertical alignment, of the standard.

Place a carpenter’s level vertically on the wall alongside the standard and adjust the standard until it’s plumb. Drill a pilot hole in each lower screw hole and insert screws in each hole, tightening all the screws.

Hold the other shelf track standard in place over the remaining marked stud. Use a level across the tops of the two standards and mark the pilot hole for the top of the second standard. Drill the pilot hole and insert the top screw; then plumb and secure the second standard, tightening all the screws.

Insert the shelf system brackets at the appropriate height for your skateboard shelf. Slide the skateboard in place over the brackets.

Items you will need

Electronic stud finder, optional

Pencil

Adjustable shelf track system

Drill with 1/8-inch bit

Screws

Screwdriver

Level

Wall anchors, optional

Tips

Mount trick “shortie” boards near a mirror to hold personal grooming items or above a desk to help organize study supplies.

If space doesn’t allow you to place the standards at studs, install them with wall anchors. Buy anchors rated for the weight of the board plus the shelved items.

The wheelbase length may vary between skateboards, so if you plan to use multiple intact skateboards on the same shelf system, measure the wheelbases before installing the standards. To adjust the width of the standards to accommodate different trucks and wheels, you can mount one standard in a stud and use wall anchors for the other standard. You can also remove the trucks and wheels and use only the skateboard deck on the brackets.

References

Resources

About the Author

Fern Fischer's print and online work has appeared in publications such as Midwest Gardening, Dolls, Workbasket, Quilts for Today and Cooking Fresh. With a broader focus on organic gardening, health, rural lifestyle, home and family articles, she specializes in topics involving antique and modern quilting, sewing and needlework techniques.